News & Events

How does funding affect access to state parks in Washington? How can more people get to the parks using public transportation? Environmental Studies major Shelby Logsdon is on a mission to find out, through her senior Capstone project.
Shelby is interning with Washington State Parks Foundation to collect and analyze data comparing Washington’s state parks to parks in other states, looking at how funding plays a part in facilitating community access and keeping parks well managed.

This month’s Rabinowitz Speaker Series: Society’s Role in a Changing Environment, co-hosted by Program on the Environment and School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, is next week, Tuesday, February 6. Join us from 4:30–6pm in Wallace Hall Commons. Mingle with colleagues after the talk (5:30pm).
Our January speaker is Dr. Ken Jennings. The title of his talk is Sustainable Urbanization.
Ken’s talk will summarize the focal areas underpinning a movement to make cities, which will be where most of the world lives before 2050, more livable and less impactful on the environment.

On a quest to better understand sustainability in a global context, two Program on the Environment students, Tyler Ung and Olivia Scott have joined the UW’s Grand Challenges Impact Lab for its pilot program in Bangalore, India. The students are there for Winter Quarter, immersing themselves in a unique learning lab that uses design thinking to address complex societal problems.

Wilderness means different things to visitors of the country’s national parks and wild lands. For Program on the Environment alumni Emily Noyd, who was featured in REI’s Keepers of the Outdoors series, being outside and helping people navigate relatively untouched lands is an incredibly rewarding experience.

Emily is currently a backcountry ranger in Yosemite National Park, where 94 percent of the park’s land is wilderness.

Have you been itching to take Tim Billo’s popular Natural History of the Puget Sound (ENVIR 280) course but stuck because you need more Earth Systems credits and can’t fit it in?
Your problem is solved. Environmental Studies majors can now also use the ENVIR 280 course to count towards an Earth Systems Literacy credit. The course can be used to fulfill your Biological Systems (per usual) OR Earth Systems Literacy credits.

This month’s Rabinowitz Speaker Series: Society’s Role in a Changing Environment, co-hosted by Program on the Environment and School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, is next week, January 9. Join us from 4:30–6pm in Wallace Hall Commons.
Our January speaker is Cleo Woelfle-Erskine. The title of his talk is Extinction’s Affects: Relational politics for field ecologists.
Bio
Dr. Cleo Woelfle-Erskine is an ecologist, hydrologist, writer, and scholar of water, working with mentor Karen Barad to explore queer, transgender, and decolonial possibilities for ecological science.

Last week’s Capstone Symposium presenters did not disappoint. With an array of oral and poster presentations showcasing work with business, campus, nonprofit and government partners on topics ranging from global conservation to implementing sustainable practices in corporations, choosing winners was tough.
The results are in though (thanks to faculty and alumni judges), and the winning presenters have bragging rights for life.

The Office of First Year Programs is seeking student leaders to help freshmen transition to college. Gain valuable leadership experience AND earn course credits with this opportunity!
FIG leaders and Orientations leaders develop professional-level leadership skills, give students practical resume-building experience, and increase program visibility. If you’re interested in giving back to freshmen, these opportunities are for you!
Details
The FIG program is looking for students from all departments who are UW-Seattle undergraduates with strong organizational skills and a genuine interest in working with freshmen as they face the challenges and opportunities presented to them as new students.

The Program on the Environment Alumni Council provides Environmental Studies alumni resources for networking and professional development, and opportunities for community building.
This year, the council has re-envisioned its purpose and onboarded new members from recent cohorts to join in efforts to connect, celebrate and support alumni and build lasting relationships. The vision of the council is to foster connections across academic and professional realms that provide the Environmental Studies community with sustained opportunities for career advancement and personal achievement.

Examining the impact of human behavior and actions on the environment is a focus of both Program on the Environment and the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at UW. To further highlight the interdisciplinary teaching and research of both units, we are co-hosting a monthly Rabinowitz Speaker Series: Society’s Role in a Changing Environment, featuring a different faculty member each month.